Wet Leg’s glorious rise has made success seem easy. Want to smash your way into the charts? Just write the kind of indie pop ear-worms that only come across once in a generation, and do it with style, panache, and a killer sense of humour. Oh, well, perhaps it’s not that easy…
Clash first caught Wet Leg at Bermondsey Social Club about nine months ago, a precocious, ultra-short set from a group whose evident talent was matched to a pensiveness that bordered on the shy. A few late-night American TV spots later, and their global travels bring Wet Leg to Camden’s Electric Ballroom, a show that sold out long before their irresistible debut album climbed to the top of the charts.
When we arrive the venue is already packed from front to back, with support act Honeyglaze enticing with askew songwriting, and wiry guitar riffs that seem to pull you inside out. It’s a curious performance, albeit one that swims defiantly against the tide – fans are here for the headline act, it seems.
– – –
– – –
Ambling onstage fashionably late, Wet Leg carry both a quiet confidence and a refreshing innocence; they’re at that stage where everything is new, and while the set contains an admirable amount of heft and muscle, there’s also the palpable feeling of a group still maintaining their ascent.
Indeed, the set seems determined to move beyond those killer singles, and highlight the more curious alt-pop elements that dwell on their debut LP. Opening – as does the album – with ‘Being In Love’, they move swiftly into ‘Convincing’ before Rhian and Hester give each other a sly nod. ‘Wet Dream’ remains an impeccably dirty thrill, it’s wry repeated line – “touching yourself / touching yourself” – sending the Camden crowd into blushing rapture.
As exhilarating as those songs remain, it’s also a set laden with surprises. ‘Too Late Now’ is given a joyous treatment, the duo twirling with each note, their guitar moves part tongue-in-cheek stageshow and partly the sight of two musicians having the time of their lives.
Curiously, there are also signs that Wet Leg have already moved beyond the material on their debut album. Dropping new material into the set, the pair lean more heavily on those PIXIES and Breeders elements, while maintaining their ineffable pop touch; ‘Abducted By A UFO’ stands out, with Wet Leg learning to flex the muscles beneath their songwriting.
A celebration of their achievements, tonight’s show is snappy, packed with energy, and – ultimately – a party from start to finish. ‘Angelica’ is allowed to elongate outwards, the spiralling psych-pop riff offering a tantalising glimpse of summer freedoms. And it ends, naturally, with ‘Chaise Longue’, the song that kick-started it all just 12 months ago. They finish with smiles beaming on their faces, almost shocked at the reaction their music is still getting; refreshing, invigorating, and totally bewitching, Wet Leg will dominate 2022. And it’s richly deserved.
– – –
Words: Robin Murray
– – –
